Durandal had just been updated by Gladys about the situation. He was displeased that the Blue Cosmos leader had managed to escape. At least, Shinn was now willing to face his friends in combat. Cagalli's speech soon got his attention. He arranged for his men to hijack the broadcast.
Those in Orb's inner circle were surprised to see "Lacus" addressing them instead of their Representative. As Meer echoed Durandal's words, Lacus looked at her husband. It was time for her to reveal herself. She had never been a puppet to anyone, and would never be one.
"I'm coming along," said Athrun firmly. The couple made their way to the studio, where the restoration of her broadcast was underway.
There was again static on the screen. When it cleared, the couple came on air. The rest of the world, as well as the crew of the Minerva, were stunned to see another Lacus on screen. Shinn clenched his fist when he saw his former mentor. What was he up to this time? Lunamaria knew that this Lacus was the real one. However, it was a secret she would have to keep to herself for now.
"Please do not be deceived by her looks. I am Lacus Clyne," declared the Pink Princess.
As the couple denounced Durandal's tactics and trickery, along with Djibril's, Meer was close to collapse. Her cover had been blown wide open. After a while, she smiled to herself. Miss Lacus was now able to wield her influence by herself. Meer Campbell as Lacus Clyne would no longer be needed. As for the Chairman, he merely smiled and looked at his chessboard.
"So, the White Queen had begun her attack," mused Durandal as he picked up the piece. He replaced it at its place on the board. He looked at the White side. They were definitely on the move now. His own queen would have to retreat. But, he had no illusions as to what the final outcome would be.
"Lacus Clyne, Athrun Zala, Kira Yamato, Orb... None of you shall stand in the way of a new future!"
After the broadcast, Shinn asked Rey for his opinion on the situation, Rey was sure that the issue of who was the true Lacus Clyne was a trival matter; the enemy was using another "Lacus Clyne" as a psychological weapon. When he remembered his mentor's "treachery", Shinn felt his anger rising.
After Djibril escaped to the new Daedalus lunar base on the far side of the Moon, he authorized the activation of the Requiem. Like its name, it would sing a farewell at the funeral of the Coordinators. The leader ordered the beam to be fired at Aprilius One. However, one of the relay stations, Gounod, was discovered by the Joule team shortly before Requiem was fired. Battle damage to Gounod slightly altered the trajectory of the beam. As a result, Requiem missed its intended target. Instead, the beam directly hit and destroyed Januarius 1 through 4 and caused December 7 and 8 to collapse, leading to the deaths of countless Coordinators. Those who witnessed the attack couldn't believe their eyes. Yzak exploded. Upon his command, the Joule Squadron destroyed the Gounod relay station. Although the PLANT where the Asukas resided were spared, as he heard the wails of his crew mates who had lost their loved ones, Shinn realised just how close he was to losing them.
While the lord waited for the Requiem to be recharged for another attempt at destroying Aprilius One, Chairman Durandal ordered the ZAFT Lunar Fleet to attack the relay stations in retaliation to the attack. ZAFT forces (including the Joule Squad) attacked furiously but were at a stalemate with the defending EA forces. The Minerva, along with Rey Za Burrel's Legend and Shinn Asuka's Destiny units, launched a surprise attack on Daedalus as a diversionary tactic to allow Lunamaria Hawke in the Impulse to infiltrate the base and access Requiem's firing chamber through a connecting service tunnel. The EAF scrambled all its fixed defenses, its last three GFAS-X1 Destroy units, several mobile armors and countless GAT-04 Windam units to defend the base. The ZAFT aces, now enraged by the monstrous attack on PLANT, swore that the EA would pay dearly for the hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians whom they had killed.
At the Fourier relay station, ZAFT managed to knock it out of position before Requiem was fully recharged, but Djibril ordered that Requiem be fired anyway to wipe out the ZAFT forces there. Also, he could use it as a cover to escape to the Arzachel lunar base in the Girty Lue.
However, Lunamaria succeeded in destroying the Requiem control centre before it could fire. The Minerva, along with Shinn's and Rey's units, destroyed the base's defenses. The Destiny took out the base's hangar and command centre, while the Legend detected the launch of the Girty Lue and destroyed it, killing the last member of LOGOS and the leader of Blue Cosmos.
The defending Earth Alliance forces then surrendered, and were treated well by ZAFT, under the orders of Durandal. He would need their expertise for what he had in mind for the superweapon.
In Orb, Waltfeld scanned through the reports his scouts had gathered during the battle in space. When he learnt that the Requiem was captured, he ran all the way to Cagalli's office. The Representative went limp, along with many of her friends.
"Durandal will not hesitate to use that beam. We would have to take it out!" The rest nodded their agreement. Cagalli ordered the officers of the Archangel and the Eternal to gather in her office. Once everyone had arrived, the orders came swiftly.
"Kira, Athrun, both of you would be promoted to the rank of Colonel, and assigned a ship to command. Athrun, you would take charge of the Eternal." The teen saluted Cagalli.
"If Lacus wishes, she could be on board. Andy, Martin, the ship's yours. But remember, you two now have someone to answer to." The three acknowledged their roles.
"Kira, the Archangel is yours. Murrue, Natarle, please help him out."
"We would, Commander," said the first mate as she saluted together with the rest. Cagalli turned towards La Flaga.
"Captain, would you like to take over as the pilot of the Akatsuki?"
"Me?" Cagalli nodded.
"Although I would be going to space as well, I intend to stay with the Kusanagi. It would be a waste for the unit to lay idle."
"But the Freedom," started La Flaga, looking at Kira at the same time.
"The Akatsuki would make a greater difference than the Freedom." Despite his memories with the unit, Kira knew that it was slowly becoming obsolete. La Flaga then accepted the offer.
"Kisaka, prepare the Kusanagi and our men. We're in on a big one this time." The giant saluted.
"Durandal had something planned for Humanity. With the Requiem, we are the only ones standing between him and his goals," reminded the Representative. She closed her eyes.
"Please get prepared, all of you. Dismissed."
As the personnel filed out of the office, Kira remained behind. Cagalli had lost a lot of weight ever since his return.
"Please, take care of yourself." Cagalli had a weak smile.
"I'm fine, really. Go. You have a ship waiting for your command, Colonel." As Kira left, the lady decided to visit one person before she left.
Uzumi looked at his daughter. Although she was not his own flesh and blood, she was truly worth of her title as the "Lioness" of Orb. He accepted her request of overseeing things here in Orb during her absence. Although he still wished that the country hadn't gotten involved in the present conflict, he recognised that there were those who would stop at nothing to prove that they were right, and that these people would only respond to force.
Cagalli decided to contact those EA forces whom she had rejected earlier. After hearing her explanation, they agreed to join the Orb fleet in space. There was no turning back now, thought the lady as she slumped in her chair. So many had responded to her call. If Durandal would not listen to reason, the showdown which would follow...
Afterthoughts
-Please RnR!